December 8, 2015
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
Today’s Major Developments
The political crisis over Turkish troops in Ninewa heats up. Central government officials insist the deployment is unauthorized and should end immediately. Shia militia groups threaten violence and armed resistance. Barzani and others insist Baghdad was aware of the Turkish deployment.
Iraqi forces consolidate hold on areas around Ramadi and capture an important bridge.
Coalition bombers pound Qayara and other Ninewa locations.
BAGHDAD
Political developments
The political crisis over the presence of Turkish soldiers and tanks in a military camp in Bashiqa in Ninewa again dominated the Iraq news, amid a storm of allegations and escalating threats.
The Iraqi cabinet met on Tuesday and voted to grant PM Abadi the authorization to “take appropriate measures” to respond to the Ninewa crisis, according to a statement issued by Abadi’s office. Iraq will “gradually escalate” its response to the Turkish presence in Ninewa if Ankara refuses to withdraw its forces, the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office said through its spokesman, without specifying further. The Prime Minister has also reportedly phoned the Secretary General of NATO and informed him about Iraq’s refusal of the Turkish troop presence in Bashiqa. [Mada] [Sumaria] [Sumaria]
Iraq’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari held a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, at the latter’s request, a Ministry spokesman said. Al-Jaafari reiterated Iraq’s rejection of the presence of Turkish forces in Ninewa and called again for their immediate withdrawal, threatening to take the matter to the UN Security Council if Turkey does not oblige.
The CoR’s Foreign Relations Committee used more threatening language than the Foreign Minister, issuing a “strongly worded statement” saying it would cut off diplomatic relations with Turkey if they don’t withdraw, a committee member said. He added that the Iraqi side would also study recent allegations by Russia and Iran of Turkish involvement in smuggling Iraqi oil. [Mada] [Baghdadia]
In spite of the unfolding controversy, Turkish forces will not withdraw from Iraq at the present time, the Turkish Foreign Minister has said through his spokesman, while at the same time affirming Turkey’s respect for the unity of Iraqi territory. [Sumaria]
The spokesman of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the objection of the Secretary General of the Arab League to Turkish troops in Iraq has “no legitimacy and no weight” because it doesn’t reflect the opinion of the organization he represents. The Secretary General said yesterday that the Arab League opposes the presence of Turkish troops in Iraq. [IslamMemo]
Despite the official Iraqi denial of any advance knowledge of the troop deployment, KRG President Masoud Barzani says that, according to his information, Turkish forces entered Iraq to train local militias to fight in Ninewa in coordination with the Iraqi central government.
Abadi spoke by phone to Barzani, according to a statement released by the PM’s office. It was reported that the two leaders called for a unified position on the presence of Turkish troops, but of course there was no indication they agreed on any unified position. Abadi reiterated his rejection of the Turkish presence and called for immediate withdrawal, rejecting foreign and regional intervention in Iraq while the statement added that Barzani “confirmed that the sovereignty of Iraq is a red line.” [Sumaria] [Mada]
DaeshDaily comment: Since, as we wrote yesterday, all the signals suggest that the Turkish deployment came with the collaboration of Barzani, it is difficult to imagine any unified position between the two leaders.
PM Abadi met with General Lloyd Austin Central Command Commander. General Austin stressed the US position that US supports Iraq and its territorial integrity. [Mada]
A Department of State spokesman says any country who wants to send troops to Iraq should get permission from the Iraqi government. [Buratha]
In the parliament, the (Shia) National Coalition met yesterday, including PM Abadi and Foreign Affairs Minister Jaafari, and discussed Iraq’s options towards Turkey’s move. The Coalition suggested an economic boycott and a complaint to the UN Security Council but said a military response is not an option because Iraqi forces are busy fighting Daesh.
Meanwhile, the new and controversial Sunni coalition called the “High Coordinating Committee,” believed to be one of the instigators of this crisis, held its first official meeting. It then issued a statement calling for the resolution of the Ninewa crisis through dialogue and for the liberation of areas held by Daesh through “reliance on their own sons.” The statement also raised the bloc’s opposition to Iranian influence in Iraq and expressed concern for the future of areas liberated from Daesh, saying that the original displaced inhabitants of those areas had the right to return but expressing concern that this right could be usurped by the militias that seize the areas from Daesh. [Mada] [Mada]
DaeshDaily comment. It’s a logical conclusion that “reliance on their own sons” means a Ninewa solution to the Daesh problem that leaves the Iraqi government out, and leaves Ninewa outside Baghdad’s control. Implicitly, this links the High Coordinating Committee to the National Mobilization Forces and to former Governor Nujaifi. Nujaifi of course is accused of being a virtual Daesh collaborator while in office and in some minds turned the province over to Daesh, getting deposed by the Iraqi parliament as a result. Blaming it all on the Iranians and on Shia militias is standard Baathist propaganda to distract Sunnis from the real power play that is going on. Iran is a big problem in Iraq but it is not the only country contributing to Iraq’s problems.
Moqtada al-Sadr has called for the UN Security Council to issue a strongly worded resolution that Turkey withdraw its forces, in remarks to the media, saying also that Iraq has become an arena for conflict between regional powers and needed “a new war” to rid itself of the multiple foreign “occupations” of its soil. [Sumaria]
At the local level the Baghdad Governorate Council voted to boycott Turkish goods and avoid making contracts with Turkish firms. [Sumaria]
For his part, former Governor Atheel Al-Nujaifi denied that he had invited Turkish forces into Ninewa. He alleged that Iraqi PM Haidar al-Abadi had “verbally” invited the Turkish troop presence. However, an MP from Ninewa, Ahmad Abdullah Al-Jubouri has in turn accused Al-Nujaifi of “having a role” in the deployment of Turkish forces to Ninewa to train the National Mobilization Front. Al-Jubouri also said, however, that the claim that “the Baghdad and Erbil [KRG] governments and [Iraqi] national security were not aware of the entry of Turkish forces is a lie and a fabrication.”
Meanwhile, a former Ninewa Operations Commander accused Nujaifi of selling Mosul to Turkey after he sold it to Daesh. He says Nujaifi formed forces outside government control and that these forces were made up of criminals implicated in attacks on civilians in Ninewa.
The current Ninewa Governor requested an emergency meeting of the Ninewa Governorate Council to take a position on the presence of Turkish forces in Bashiqa. [BasNews] [Sumaria] [Sumaria] [Karemlash]
DaeshDaily comment. The meeting could be a turning point one way or the other, and will perhaps serve to separate the loyalists from the plotters. A prior concern could be the attendance, however, as the meeting can’t be held in Daesh-controlled Mosul and the location of the alternative venue could affect which members come.
The Sunni House for Ifta’, an important Sunni religious authority, expresses its rejection of Turkish troops in Iraq and says Sunni Iraqis will carry their weapons and fight foreign forces that try to violate the national borders of Iraq. [Etejah]
A spokesman for the KRG Peshmerga ministry stated that the Peshmerga would not intervene in Iraqi-Turkish fighting if the crisis took a military turn, saying that the crisis had escalated farther than it should have given that Turkey has conducted training of Ninewa police and militias in northern Iraq before. [Rudaw]
DaeshDaily comment. This was a Gorran-managed ministry but the Gorran ministers remain excluded from the KRG government due to the ongoing dispute. The statement more likely reflects a KDP viewpoint.
After all the conflicting words, the spokesman of the High Coordination Committee says Turkey will withdraw its troops from Bashiqa within the next few hours. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. Assuming this turns out to be true, we don’t know how a Sunni MP would know about Turkey’s plans.
Security developments
The Judicial Council spokesman says the Central Criminal Court sentenced to death the leader of the Military Council of Revolutionaries in Baghdad, a Baathist armed group that claimed responsibility for many terrorist attacks, and sentenced four of his comrades to life in prison. [PUKMedia]
The spokesman of Kata’eb Hezbollah denied the allegations yesterday by a Sunni MP that the KH is kidnapping Sunnis. [Ghad]
Iraqi forces killed 2 Daesh members and destroyed a hideout north of Baghdad. [BOC Facebook Page]
Security forces defused 4 IEDs in Tarmiya District in north Baghdad. [BOC Facebook Page]
Daesh publishes photos of shelling Iraqi forces with rockets in the Albu Aziz area north of Baghdad. [JustPaste]
According to security sources:
- An IED exploded near a commercial area in Saba’ Al-Bor in northern Baghdad, killing a civilian and wounding seven others. [Baghdadia]
- Unknown armed men shot and killed a woman near her house in Husseiniya in north Baghdad. [Sumaria]
- An IED exploded in a commercial area of Suleikh, northeast Baghdad, killing one and wounding five. [Mada]
- Three Ministry of Education employees were injured when a sticky IED exploded on their vehicle as they passed through the Shaab area in northeast Baghdad. [Mada]
- An IED exploded in the Kifah area of central Baghdad, killing two and wounding seven others. [Mada]
- An IED exploded in the Baiyaa area of southeast Baghdad, killing one person and injuring seven. [Mada]
- An IED in the Hay Al-Saha area of Dora in south Baghdad, killing one person and injuring six. [Mada]
- An IED exploded in Rasheed District in south Baghdad wounding two civilians. [Sumaria]
- Iraqi forces seized a “large quantity” of arms in Albu Aitha in south Baghdad. [Mada]
- A mortar shell fell on the Radwaniya area west of Baghdad, killing a woman and injuring three of her children. [Baghdadia]
ANBAR
Ramadi
Iraqi forces have cleared the former Anbar Operations Command headquarters in Ramadi District, the IWMC says. [Mada] [Baghdadia]
Iraqi forces have completely cleared the Al-Tameem area of Daesh, a security source said, while the IWMC announced that the area would be cleared “in the coming few hours.” [Mada] [Baghdadia]
The IWMC says Iraqi troops raised the Iraqi flag on the Al-Qassem Bridge between Tameem and Humaira. [Mada]
A video of Iraqi Rapid Intervention forces in Tameem. [Ghadeer]
Iraqi Rapid Intervention forces attacked Daesh sites east of Ramadi, killing “tens” of Daesh members, the IWMC says. [Baghdadia]
The IWMC says Iraqi forces destroyed six Daesh hideouts, a vehicle and 34 IEDs in East Hsaiba east of the city and killed many Daesh fighters. [Mada]
Falluja
Iraqi forces killed a Daesh terrorist in the Dhira’ Dijla area north of Falluja. [BOC Facebook Page]
An Iraqi Army 60th Brigade unit killed a terrorist and wounded another in the Auda Al-Shukur area east of Falluja. [BOC Facebook Page]
An Iraqi Army 24th Brigade unit killed 5 Daesh fighters and destroyed a house and a vehicle in Lihaib east of Falluja. [BOC Facebook Page]
Baghdad Operations Command troops killed 3 terrorists and destroyed 2 hideouts and a vehicle in Qarma district. [BOC Facebook Page]
Daesh publishes two photos of targeting an Iraqi Army building in Rashad in Qarma with a 23mm cannon. [JustPaste]
A video of PMFs shelling Daesh in Qarma with mortars [Harbi]
Daesh publishes photos of agriculture in Zoba’a. [JustPaste]
Hit/Haditha
An Iraqi warplane struck the Al-Kasriyat area west of Ramadi, killing “tens” of Daesh members including a local Daesh emir, a Jazeera Operations commander said. [Sumaria]
SALAHUDDIN
Baiji
The IWMC says the IAA
- destroyed a Daesh vehicle bomb factory and four vehicle bombs in several airstrikes west of Samarra; [Ghad]
- destroyed 2 Daesh vehicles trying to sneak into the Himrin Mountains area; [Ghad] and
– destroyed two Daesh hideouts in the Himrin Mountains area, killing many Daesh members. [Mada]
Daesh publishes a video of a Saudi suicide terrorist who used to work for an American company working with the Saudi Army, then decided to join Daesh and later detonated himself in Baiji. [Archive]
Tikrit
Iraqi forces and PMFs repelled a Daesh attack in the Allas oil field area east of Tikrit, killing four Daesh militants. Six PMF fighters were injured in the clashes. [Mada]
Coalition planes targeted Daesh sites in two raids north of Tikrit, the IWMC said. [Mada]
Shirqat
The IWMC says Coalition airplanes bombed a Daesh vehicle bomb factory in Shirqat, destroying 4 oil tanker bombs, 3 vehicle bombs and 2 construction shovels and killing several Daesh members. [Ghad]
Daesh publishes photos of whiplashing a cigarette smuggler. [JustPaste]
Elsewhere in Salahuddin
The IWMC says the IAA targeted Daesh near Allas and Ajil oil fields, killing many terrorists and destroying a hideout, a construction shovel, a vehicle bomb and another vehicle in addition to a rocket launcher. [Ghad]
Daesh says its terrorists attacked 6 PMF barracks in Allas oil field and killed 40 PMFs before retreating safely. [Dump]
A security source says unknown armed men shot and killed a displaced Sunni man in Tuz. [Mada]
A security source says unknown armed men kidnapped a school headmaster in Tuz. [Sumaria]
DIYALA
Baquba
Daesh publishes photos of its military training in Diyala. [JustPaste]
Muqdadiya
An Iraqi policeman was injured in an attack by unidentified gunmen believed to be affiliated with Daesh, at a checkpoint in the Muqdadiya area. [Sumaria]
Northern Diyala
Daesh says it destroyed an Iraqi Army vehicle and a construction shovel in Udhaim. Daesh also says its terrorists clashed with Iraqi forces in another area in Udhaim without giving more details. [JustPaste]
Daesh publishes photos of Sunni houses destroyed by PMFs in Udhaim. [JustPaste]
KIRKUK
The PUK-affiliated chair of the Kirkuk GC Energy Committee has accused the Iraqi Interior Minister of singling out Kirkuk for a “war” by allegedly withholding funds necessary for governorate expenses. The governorate will pay police salaries of 11,000 personnel from local sources this month, he said, calling on Baghdad to release the funds earmarked for the Kirkuk provincial budget. At the same time the council member called on the KRG to send funds to Kirkuk, on the grounds that Kirkuk sends 300,000 barrels per day to global markets through the Turkish port of Ceyhan, but the KRG has not responded. [Mada]
DaeshDaily comment. This seems to reflect the earlier-reported power struggle between MoI and Kirkuk over who has authority to hire and fire the Chief of Police. MoI was withholding budget money for police as a result of that dispute.
A PUK official says Coalition airplanes launched intensive airstrikes on Daesh weapons storehouses in Al-Zab in Hawija, killing or wounding many terrorists. [PUKMedia]
A Kirkuk police commander says local police and Asayesh arrested 7 men wanted on terrorism charges, in the Hay Al-Shaabi area. [Sumaria]
A local source says Daesh executed 3 members of the Naqshbandi group for refusing to renew the allegiance to Daesh leader. [Sumaria]
DaeshDaily comment. The Naqshbandi group is a pro-Baathist group that was one of Daesh’s staunch allies at the beginning, but later there were clashes and this is not the first report of Daesh executing group members. A likely explanation behind this fallout is that the Naqshbandis are Sufis. Daesh needs them but opposes their theology, and they execute some Sufis (sometimes accusing them of being “wizards”) and destroy Sufi shrines.
A security source says unknown armed men in a pick-up vehicle shot and killed two Iraqi Army captains east of Kirkuk. [Maalomah]
NINEWA
Mosul
Coalition planes struck Daesh targets in government buildings in the Qayara area, south of Mosul, killing and wounding 30 Daesh members, a security source in Ninewa said. At one site the majority of the 18 found dead were of foreign Arab nationalities, a security source said. [Mada] [BasNews]
A PUK official says Coalition airplanes destroyed a Daesh convoy near Qayara, killing many Daesh terrorists. [PUKMedia]
He also says Coalition airstrikes on several areas between Makhmur and Qayara killed 35 Daesh fighters and wounded eight. [PUKMedia]
Daesh publishes photos of the results of some of the bombing on Qayara. [JustPaste]
Daesh says Coalition airplanes launched 13 airstrikes on Qayara since last night. Daesh says there were no human casualties in the airstrikes. [JustPaste] [A3maq]
Daesh publishes a video message from one of its terrorists (from Mauritius). The video also shows the life of the terrorist’s family in Mosul. [Archive]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
Northeast
Daesh publishes a video of the results of the Coalition bombing on the Al-Khan village in Hasaka yesterday and says at least ten civilians were killed including women and children. [A3maq] [A3maq]
Coalition planes struck Daesh positions in a village near Al-Hawl east of Hasaka, destroying several homes and injuring an undetermined number of civilians. [ARA]
Daesh says it stopped a Syrian Democratic Forces attack in the western countryside of Al-Hawl. Daesh says two of its suicide terrorists attacked the SDF with two vehicle bombs, killing or wounding many and forcing the rest to retreat. [Dump]
Daesh publishes photos of rocketing the YPG in Mount Abdulaziz, 22 miles from Hasaka city. [JustPaste]
Daesh publishes a video message from its Tunisian terrorists in Hasaka Governorate. The video talks about the recent attack in Tunis and ends with executing a Syrian soldier. [Dabiq]
Daesh publishes photos of the results of the bombing on Tabaqa. [JustPaste]
Northwest
Daesh says it stopped 3 attacks by Syrian armed groups on the Qara Kobri village in Aleppo’s northern countryside. [Dump]
Daesh publishes two photos and a video of the results of Russian bombing on a grain silo and a market north of Raqqa. Daesh says a woman was killed and 3 wounded in the airstrike on the market. [JustPaste] [JustPaste] [A3maq] [A3maq]
Daesh says Syrian airplanes and helicopters bombed areas north of the Kowaires airbase preparing for a ground attack. [A3maq]
Fighting has resumed between the YPG and FSA-affiliated factions on the one hand, and Al-Nusra Front and allied factions on the other, in the countryside north of Aleppo, a militia spokesman from the Syrian Front has said. [ARA]
Russian and Syrian planes conducted airstrikes around Aleppo, leaving a “massacre” behind, ARA News reports, without specifying the number of civilian casualties. [ARA]
Central and West
Daesh says it killed 7 Syrian soldiers and destroyed a soldiers’ carrier north of Al-Qaryatayn in eastern Homs. [A3maq] [A3maq]
East
Daesh executes three civilians from the Shaitat tribe in Deir Ez-Zor, accusing them of joining other Syrian armed groups. Daesh arrested more civilians in Mayadin and Baqris in eastern Deir Ez-Zor countryside. Daesh moved its headquarters to civilian locations in Deir Ez-Zor after the Coalition intensified its airstrikes on the area. [Qasioun]
South
Residents of the Daesh-held Yarmouk Camp south of Damascus have held demonstrations calling for relief from the siege by the Syrian Army that the camp has endured for 888 days, calling attention to the deteriorated conditions. (There are reports about people starving in this camp.) The demonstration came amid unconfirmed reports that a new agreement would see the Daesh forces redeploying away from the camp. [ARA]
REPORTS FROM OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICAN COUNTRIES
Daesh audio newsletter for today in English [Archive]
Yemen. Daesh says it detonated an IED on a Yemeni Central Security armored vehicle in Hadhramaut, killing two security members. [A3maq]
Egypt. An Egyptian Army officer and three other soldiers were killed and four other soldiers wounded when an IED exploded on an armored vehicle in Rafah. [Youm7]
Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack. [A3maq]
Libya. Local sources in Sirte say a Daesh Sudanese member assaulted two female students in Sirte University without giving them a reason. It was reported, however, that Daesh was holding a lecture at the university and the students didn’t attend. The sources also say Daesh vehicles are patrolling the city without turning up the vehicle lights. [AfriGate]
Local leaders from Ajdabiya met with military officials and decided to launch a military campaign against the “radicals” in the city and its outskirts on December 15. [AfriGate]
Daesh publishes photos of its “education” sessions for mosque imams in Sirte. [JustPaste]
Morocco. The Morocco Ministry of Interior says security forces arrested a “dangerous” Daesh member in Burkan who was planning for terrorist attacks in coordination with Daesh leaders in Iraq and Syria. [AfriGate]
SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES
Facebook Page of the Day
Mosul University’s Students page
Daesh Twitter Accounts of the Day
https://twitter.com/abo__ANS__
https://twitter.com/ALLALLA___
https://twitter.com/ttrr34450880
https://twitter.com/salamgeer9
